The Senate of Pakistan passed nine bills on Monday.
These bills include, The Trade Organizations (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025, The Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2025, The Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) (Amendment) Bill, 2023, The University of Innovation and Technology Bill, 2023, The Provincial Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2024, The National Highways Safety (Amendment) Bill, 2024, The China Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2022, The Provincial Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and The Pakistan Names and Emblems (Prevention of Un-authorized Use) (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
The Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 2025
Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman presented the bill in the Senate. However, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) Senator Kamaran Murtaza opposed the bill. He said that opinion of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) should be sought on the bill.
Responding to Murtaza, Sherry Rehman said this bill has nothing to do with the religion. She said that children under 18 cannot be married off. She said that a woman dies every two hours during pregnancy or while delivering her baby in Pakistan. She said that this number is too high and asked Murtaza to try to understand enormity of this issue. She said that children were suffering from malnutrition. She said the Senate had passed this bill in the past but this bill died down in the National Assembly later. She said this bill has also been approved by the Senate Standing Committee.
Announcing a walkout from the Senate, JUI Senator Attaur Rehman said his party opposes the bill and wants to walkout of the house. He said that CCI’s opinion should be sought on the bill.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) too endorsed JUI’s stance that the bill should be sent to the CCI for opinion.
However, PPP Senator Farooq H. Naik said that Islam allows marriage on the basis of puberty, not age, therefore marriages of children under 18 should be banned.
Intervening in this debate, the Senate deputy speaker said the JUI required 38 votes to take the bill to the CII for its opinion. Instead of holding voting on the bill, JUI senators walked out of the Senate. Later the bill was passed immediate.
Trade Organizations (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025
The Senate unanimously passed the Trade Organizations (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025, after its earlier approval by the National Assembly.
Presented by Senator Shahadat Awan, ‘The Trade Organizations (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025, under the Trade Organizations (Amendment) Act,2025, the two years’ tenure for office bearers under sub-section (l) of section 11, shall apply only to those elected on or after the enactment of the trade organizations (Amendment) Act, 2025.
It is in the interest of the organizations and all trade bodies that the election to be conducted in accordance with the Trade Organizations (Amendment) Act,2022, to ensure the continued smooth operation of bodies established under the Act.
This provision is disruptive to the smooth functioning of trade bodies, particularly the federation, chambers, and Association.
Therefore, it is essential to omit sub-section (1A) of section ll of the Trade Organizations Act, 2013, as inserted by the Trade Organizations (Amendment) Act, 2025, from the date of its enactment.